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Topic: California Market (Read 2005 times)

Anyone know what the latest is on sales in California? I last heard March once all the testing is passed. Will the few (3) initial dealers have parts & knowledge right at the start and will there be a lag on delivery with a waiting list? Would it be risky to be an early adopter?

Anyone know what the latest is on sales in California? I last heard March once all the testing is passed. Will the few (3) initial dealers have parts & knowledge right at the start and will there be a lag on delivery with a waiting list? Would it be risky to be an early adopter?

Can't answer your questions specifically but these links will be of interest to you:

Thanks Leonard. The dealer web page for California is 4 more than I was last told and interestingly only one actually mentions RE on its website (Doug Douglas, San Bernardino). That sort of tells me they are not arriving soon. I have seen them at South Bay Triumph (not for sale), but they were way optimistic last December thinking they would be ready to go by now.

I am just hoping when they are ready for sale I won't be looking at a six month waiting list due to manufacturing back logs and high demand (which of course is a good thing for RE). I feel like I have been waiting 25 years for this particular motorcycle to arrive. I can't count the times I came close to an old Brit bike only to chicken out and move toward a not quite what I wanted new BMW or Yamaha and then give up.

I am for sure going to pull the trigger on the new Royal Enfield - black G5 I think with a solo seat. For now I am waiting it out in blog land.

Thanks Leonard. The dealer web page for California is 4 more than I was last told and interestingly only one actually mentions RE on its website (Doug Douglas, San Bernardino). That sort of tells me they are not arriving soon. I have seen them at South Bay Triumph (not for sale), but they were way optimistic last December thinking they would be ready to go by now.

I am just hoping when they are ready for sale I won't be looking at a six month waiting list due to manufacturing back logs and high demand (which of course is a good thing for RE). I feel like I have been waiting 25 years for this particular motorcycle to arrive. I can't count the times I came close to an old Brit bike only to chicken out and move toward a not quite what I wanted new BMW or Yamaha and then give up.

I am for sure going to pull the trigger on the new Royal Enfield - black G5 I think with a solo seat. For now I am waiting it out in blog land.

I don't think you could fit a 20 tooth sprocket in there. I put a 18 in mine and held a 4 speed 19 up to it and think it would hit the boss just to the rear of the sprocket. If they even make a 19 you might have to do some creative grinding to get it in there. The cases are pretty thin though so I'd keep it down to a 18 to be safe.CJ

Advertising suggestion: Take the demo bikes to all the local indian temples, especially Sikh temples. Singh's from north India have a special affection for the RE. I know that cos I am one of them. Just ride around in the parking lot every sunday around noon. Make sure you have a shorty muffler on. They will recognize the sound. You will generate a lot of interest.

Thank you for that suggestion. While I don't want to appear to prospective customers as a hawk after a mouse it is important to get the word out and that might be a great way to do it. I will definitely look into that!

Thank you for that suggestion. While I don't want to appear to prospective customers as a hawk after a mouse it is important to get the word out and that might be a great way to do it. I will definitely look into that!Art

We've been taking some bikes to all the local swap meets and bike shows. Cheap exposure, your not going sell any bikes there but you can plant some seeds for some later sales.No need to feel like a "hawk after a mouse". In this depressed economy you have to do anything you can do to get the word out. The ones that get the word out will still be in business in a few years. The ones that don't won't be.CJ

We've been taking some bikes to all the local swap meets and bike shows. Cheap exposure, your not going sell any bikes there but you can plant some seeds for some later sales.No need to feel like a "hawk after a mouse". In this depressed economy you have to do anything you can do to get the word out. The ones that get the word out will still be in business in a few years. The ones that don't won't be.CJ

Lots of people ask me about my Bullet. When they ask the magic question " where can I get one ? " I smile and hand them a copy of Vince's business card that I cut and pasted along with the web address to our forum printed on it. I run a half dozen sheets out of my printer for only pennies.

You might consider including something like that with each purchase

Logged

I can break it better,,,,at night, in the rain, on the trail,, 20 miles from nowhere.

REA #136

"TIMEX", the '06 Iron Barrel Military that takes me everywhere I want to go... and some places I shouldn't.

Any news on CARB certification. The dealer (future) in San Francisco sounded assured of March-April. Is that still the case.

I just talked to Munroe in the SF bay area - I was told sometime in Spring, and was also reminded that Spring ends on June 20th. No, nothing has changed and there are no updates since the first announcement of CA availability - methinks.

As an aside, I just returned from 2 week trip to India. Visited one RE dealer walking distance to where I live and had a close encounter of the third kind with the bikes - including the military green - a real beauty. Isn't this a better experience than talking over the phone to dealers who have no clue when they will have one for sale